West Indies seek rare series win

A buoyant West Indies team would look to create history when they lock horns with India in the third and final ODI in Kanpur on Wednesday. The Green Park in the central city of Uttar Pradesh has been witness to many an epic battle and would provide an opportunity for the visitors to seal their first bilateral ODI series win for more than a decade on Indian soil.

India on the other hand would like to believe that Visakhapatam was an aberration and continue their domination in the shorter formats. Reputation would be at stake for MS Dhoni's men as India, the current world champions are atop the ICC ODI rankings while West Indies are placed at a lowly seventh position. A loss for the home side would not affect the positions for either teams but would certainly be a heavy dent on India's ego and pride.

India

India will once again rely on the flamboyant duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to provide them with a rollicking start. Sharma has amassed 1155 ODI runs in 2013 and sits only behind Virat Kohli. Dhawan is not too far behind and is at the sixth position as far as aggregate runs are concerned. Virat Kohli has missed the opportunity to add to his illustrious hundreds tally with scores off 86 and 99 at Kochi and Visakhapatnam respectively and would be looking to make the West Indies pay.

MS Dhoni registered a splendid fifty in Vizag, once again giving proof to the widely accepted fact that he is one of the greatest finishers in the history of ODI cricket. The only concern for India would be the form of Yuvraj Singh. The southpaw looks a flash of the player he was and struggled against the West Indian pace and spin in the second ODI. There might be a case for him to be replaced by Ambati Rayudu but with skipper Dhoni coming out in support of Yuvraj, it looks unlikely there would be any change in the top six. Ravindra Jadeja's batting form is also a cause of worry for the hosts.

The fast bowling unit will continue to give nightmares to the Indian skipper. The trio of Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma, all took a pasting in Vizag and need to recuperate from the hammering. India would be banking on its spinners - R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who both impressed in Vizag to replicate their performance in the decider.

West Indies

West Indies would be cock-a-hoop after their thrilling series-leveling victory. Kieran Powell, the replacement for Chris Gayle made the most of the opportunity and sparkled with a fluent 59. Johnson Charles has also looked in good touch. Darren Bravo with two consecutive fifties has been the stand-out batsman for the visitors. Lendl Simmons was involved in a match-changing partnership with Darren Sammy in Vizag.

The only disappointment for the West Indies has been the performance of Marlon Samuels who has failed to make any impact on the series thus far. Skipper, Dwayne Bravo and Sammy can provide the impetus at the death. The latter has already shown his prowess with an unbeaten match-winning half-century in the previous match.

Ravi Rampaul picked up 4 wickets in Vizag and has bowled with zest and heart. Jason Holder has got extra bounce with his height and troubled the Indian batsmen with the new ball. Sunil Narine was very economical in the last encounter but hasn't been amongst the wickets. With Bravo, Sammy and Permaul also a part of their bowling armoury, the West Indies have quite a variety at their disposal.

Stats and Trivia

- West Indies' last bilateral ODI series win against India dates back to 2006 when as hosts they beat the touring Indian side 4-1.

- West Indies' last bilateral ODI series win against India on Indian soil dates back to 2002/03 when they beat the hosts 4-3 in a seven-match series.

- Ravindra Jadeja is the joint leader (along with Saeed Ajmal) amongst the wicket-takers in ODI cricket for 2013.

- Ravi Rampaul is two short of completing 100 ODI career wickets. He will become the 14th West Indian to reach the milestone should he achieve the feat.

- The last international hosted by the Green Park in Kanpur was a Test match between India and Sri Lanka in November 2009 which the hosts won comfortably.

Pitch and Weather Conditions

MS Dhoni was unhappy with the evening dew in Vizag which affected the Indian bowlers adversely as they found it hard to grip the ball. It will not be a factor in Kanpur, with the match slated to be a day game. However, an early start in the winter in the northern Indian city would mean that overnight dew will affect the conditions in the morning. As such, the captain winning the toss would certainly put the opposition in to make use of the morning juice in the wicket.

A bright and sunny Wednesday is expected in Kanpur. The wicket is expected to offer some purchase for the faster men in the first hour before easing out to be a belter.

There will be no dearth of support for the home team in Kanpur. But the West Indies team will have enough motivation of their own - after all a series win against India in India is rare! The stage is set for the mini finale. India would want to end the home season on a high. Will the tourists spoil the Indian party or will MS Dhoni's men paint the Green Park Blue?

Quotes:

"We are not under any pressure because they (West Indies) came here to play and win. It is good for the series that it is tied at 1-1. Our morale is high because the last match was a close affair." - Bhuvneshwar Kumar

"I encourage the young West Indies batsmen to learn from the Indian batsmen, particularly inculcate their appetite for runs. I want guys like Darren Bravo, Kieran Powell and Johnson Charles to learn from the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan." - Dwayne Bravo

Shikhar Dhawan smashed a magnificent 119 off just 95 deliveries in the third and final ODI in Kanpur to help India to a series win over the West Indies. The southpaw stated that he wanted to continue scoring tons and help India win more matches.

Yuvraj Singh returned to form with a fine 55 off 74 deliveries against the West Indies in the third and final ODI in Kanpur. He put together a match-winning 129-run stand with centurion Shikhar Dhawan as hosts India beat the visitors by a comprehensive margin of 5 wickets with plenty of overs to spare.

Shikhar Dhawan blasted his fifth century of the year while Yuvraj Singh bounced back to form with his 51st half-century as India made light work of the West Indies to romp to a five-wicket victory and take the three-match series 2-1.